


You Have Been Warned

by Mafief



Category: Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle
Genre: Community: holmes_minor, Gen, Story: The Adventure of the Illustrious Client
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-14
Updated: 2017-08-14
Packaged: 2018-12-15 09:52:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11803596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mafief/pseuds/Mafief
Summary: Inspired by the attempted theft mentioned in ILLU.Holmes and Watson return home to their cottage in Sussex and find it burgled.holmes_minor prompt: hand utensils.





	You Have Been Warned

Holmes knew something was wrong as he approached the cottage. Every step caused further tension in his body and his expression accentuated the signs of age on his face. His eyes were darting to and fro examining the disturbed stones on the garden pathway and gathering information only he could decipher. 

Looking past my companion, my eyes immediately centered on what was left of the whitewashed door. My instincts to protect Holmes flared and I step around him to investigate inside. Our trip into the village typically did not require my service revolver thus I was only armed with my walking stick. Avoiding the floorboard that squeaks, I made my way into our home. I needed to determine if there was another living soul hiding in our cottage, thus I kept myself from recognizing the full extent of the damage as I surveyed both storeys of the cottage. We were alone. Before going downstairs, I fought my feelings of disbelief and attempted to resign myself to the task of assessing the damage. 

Even our most disorganized state in Baker Street had a cryptic sense of order while the scene in front of me was pure chaos. Chairs were toppled. Papers of all sorts and degrees of crumple were layering the floor. Our kitchen was ransacked and kitchen utensils were scattered around the floor. The library was the hardest hit and books were opened only to be discarded without care. It occurred to me later that the burglar was favoring books which he assumed to be mine. 

Holmes was standing over my desk with a note in his hand and a bone handled cook’s knife in the other. The pierced note had been stabbed to my desk and written on my paper with my pen that I had used to record my friend’s gifts. Without saying a word, he handed me the note. 

DESTROY THE NOTES. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. 

I could deduce that the note was written by a male using his nondominant hand. Holmes added, as he seemed to be able to hear my unspoken thoughts, that the writer was pliable, prone to U-turns, indicating that he was likely a politician. We both agreed that he was after my case notes of the affair at the light-house.

Three days after the break in, I am forced to wonder how long it will take me to feel safe in my home. Holmes assures me that he knows the culprit. This is one method which Holmes has chosen to cope with this outrageous break-in while the other is tightening the security of our home. Together, we will think of a method to further deter any further attempts of burglary.


End file.
